Husband suspected in Donna woman’s death fled to Mexico, deputies say

A Donna area woman is dead and her common-law husband who is believed to have fled to Mexico is suspected of killing her during what Hidalgo County sheriff’s deputies called a domestic dispute.

Deputies are investigating the death of 49-year-old Maria De La Carmen De Anda, who authorities previously identified as a 45-year-old woman, as a homicide after her body was found in the wee hours of Wednesday morning in rural Donna.

Sheriff J.E. “Eddie” Guerra said via X (formerly known as Twitter) that the woman’s body was found “covered in a blanket lying in a pool of blood” at around 1:30 a.m.

He said she was found in the 200 block of Gideon Avenue in rural Donna and that her death is being investigated as a homicide.

In a news release Wednesday evening, the sheriff’s office said De Anda’s body was located toward the rear of a small apartment and that her vehicle was missing.

Hidalgo County sheriff’s investigators, the release stated, found her vehicle parked near the Hidalgo-Reynosa International Bridge, where they reviewed surveillance footage and photos showing her common-law husband, 49-year-old Ismael Terrazas Diaz, in possession of the vehicle and crossing into Mexico.

“Investigators gathered evidence at the scene and are also pending autopsy results,” the sheriff’s office said in the release, adding that authorities believe De Anda’s death was the result of a domestic dispute.

An arrest warrant is pending for Diaz, who has been identified as the suspect in the case.

Anyone with information that can help authorities in their investigation can call the Hidalgo County Sheriff’s Office at (956) 383-8114, or for anonymity contact the Hidalgo County Crime Stoppers Hotline at (956) 668-TIPS (8477) or use the P3 TIPS app.